


The Crow, The Wolf, and The Serpent

by TiredArts



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Alien-like Awoken, Crow and Bitrik bond through Gambit, Drifter can say fuck, Non-binary Crow, Other, Unconventional Guardians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29332482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiredArts/pseuds/TiredArts
Summary: Bitrik lets Crow out of Spider’s den and has an idea
Relationships: OCxCanon - Relationship, but like platonically
Kudos: 13





	1. Release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitrik lets Crow out of Spider’s den and has an idea

Bitrik laughed as he led Crow out of the Spider’s safe house. The fat Baron was livid behind him, snarling as he pouted over the loss of his “pet.”

What now?” Crow asked, processing freedom. “This doesn’t feel real.”  


Still smiling, Bitrik patted Crow on the shoulder. “Well, whatever you want! We could go to Nessus, the Moon, the ci-“ a pause- “actually, on second thought, the City is kind of a bad idea.”

Crow arched a brow. “How so?”

Bitrik stopped at the door to Thieves’ Landing. He leaned against the wall and rested a hand on his chin, stroking his beard as he thought. 

“Remember that Sunbreaker?”

“Oh.” The disappointment was thick in Crow’s voice. “Is everyone like that?”

A flash of inspiration played across Bitrik’s face. 

“Not everyone… say, now that you’re a Guardian, how do you feel about trying out one of our regular pastimes?”

Crow’s eyes widened. “Go on?”

“A buddy of mine runs a little thing called Gambit,” Bitrik started, fishing a jade coin out from under his vest. “It’s a combat training course. Perfect for someone of your skill set, based on what I’ve seen of you from those Hunts.”

He handed the coin to Crow, the red thread spilling through his fingers like blood. 

“And what does this have to do with the course?” 

Crow held the coin to a lamp and watched green light flow through it. Bitrik shrugged and held out his Ghost to call his ship. 

“One of his many quirks, I guess. Optic, set a course for the Tower. Annex entrance, and quietly.”


	2. Release

Bitrik’s ship lowered to hover above the Annex pad. He touched down in a flash of teal and turned to face Crow- or, rather where Crow  _ would’ve  _ been if the transmat had activated.

A tapping in the cockpit drew his attention. He looked up to see Crow, still inside the cockpit, looking very confused. 

“How does this work?” the once-prince asked through the comset. 

Bitrik blinked slowly, then realized- Crow didn’t know how transmat worked. He sighed and held a finger to his ear. 

“There’s a release hatch on the driver’s side that opens the window. Should be the small red lever.”

The front of the ship hissed open, allowing Crow to climb out- and rather embarrassingly, at that. Their shawl, which had been purged of Spider’s brand, caught on the wing and sent them flying face-first into the hard metal pad with a loud CLANG. 

Bitrik winced as Crow stood and dusted themself off. Glint materialized to heal Crow’s broken nose and turned to face Bitrik. Despite being dressed in a plain Generalist’s Shell (a temporary one, since his old one was still rigged to explode), Bitrik could read his expression quite clearly: 

“What the fuck.”

Bitrik finally broke and laughed as Crow glared at him. He raised a finger and inhaled to regain his composure. 

“I’m sorry, that was just-“  _ wheeze  _ ”-oh Light. I really have to teach you how transmat works.”

“Baron Spider insisted on the drop claws of the salvage skiff,” Crow huffed. “He didn’t like me being in a FTL-capable ship for some reason.”

Bitrik shook his head. “That was probably because he didn’t want you to be able to escape. And he’s not a real Baron, trust me.”

A faint rustling in the hallway drew Bitrik’s attention. A hooded figure had stepped out from Drifter’s little hidey-hole of a vendor spot while he and Crow were talking. Bitrik’s ears instinctively flipped up as he reached for a sidearm. 

“Hey! Hold your fire, brother!”

The stranger’s drawl was unmistakable. Drifter flipped back his hood and smiled while Bitrik re-holstered his gun. 

“What’s got you so on edge, Hero?” 

Drifter then noticed Crow, who, despite being fairly tall, was silent enough to hide in plain view. Drifter stumbled back, hand at the top of his Trust in an instant. “FUCK!”

Bitrik, helpful as ever, simply smiled and quipped, “What, seeing ghosts or something, Eli?”

“Tha- that’s-” Drifter started, but stopped after seeing Optic’s glare from behind Bitrik. “Oh, o-ho-ho, so it’s one of  _ those _ deals…?”

Crow narrowed their eyes. “Deals?” They glanced at Bitrik, who was still smiling like an idiot. “Bitrik, what are you getting me into this time?”

Optic rammed himself into the back of Bitrik’s head to snap him out of his “I’m gonna be a doofus” moment. Bitrik chirped a swear in surprise and rubbed the back of his head.   
“Just a bit of practice,” he said. “Nothing too serious.”


	3. Explaining Some Rules

After taking a few mental notes on this totally-not-Uldren character, Drifter finally stood up and introduced himself properly.  
“‘Name’s Drifter. I run the _finest_ Guardian combat training you’ll find in Sol.” He glanced at Bitrik halfway through, who flashed a thumbs up.  
Crow wasn’t convinced. “I’ve had combat training. Life-fire, too.”

“Oh, but _this_ is live-fire, but better!” Bitrik beamed. “And the best part? You get LOTS of loot- and it isn't covered in Wrathborn guts!”

  
“Fine,” Crow huffed playfully. “How does this ‘Gambit’ work?”

Drifter’s face brightened. “It’s simple, brother!.... You’re good with ‘brother,’ right?”

Crow shrugged. “Call me Crow if you can’t decide.”

“Anyways, rules are simple.” Drifter continued. ”I send you and your squad down into one zone, and another squad of four into another. Kill some hostiles, and bank the motes they drop in the center. Build up enough, and you’ll be able to kill a big Taken called a Primeval and win.”  
“Wait,” Crow interrupted. “Taken?!”

“Oh no,” Bitrik muttered. He’d forgotten about that part. 

Drifter kept going as if Crow hadn’t interrupted him. “Every so often, the enemy team can send someone over to your side to distract you and potentially heal your Primeval.”

“Okay,” Crow said. “You aren’t just gonna gloss over the whole Taken question though, right?”

Drifter laughed. “What, you scared of a few Ascendant nasties? I wrangled ‘em all myself.”  
  


“Plus, you’ll have me on your team!” 

Bitrik spread his arms and beamed with pride. Optic rolled above his charge begrudgingly, then dropped a gun on Bitrik’s unarmored head. 

The elaborately-carved hand cannon bounced off Bitrik’s dense skull with a satisfying thud and clattered to the floor. The barrel smoked with some perversion of Taken essence, stars sparkling in the impossible depths of the chamber.

“OW,” Bitrik yelled. “What was that for?!”  
“Your ego, Beetles.” Optic vanished into his pocket backpack, but his voice echoed in the vaulted Annex ceilings. “Your Light-forsaken ego.”

Bitrik grumbled and picked up the gun, then smiled fondly as he realized what it was.   
“Ah, my old Malfeasance! Haven’t used this baby in a while!”  
He looked up and squinted at Crow, who was eyeballing the gun like it was going to jump out of Bitrik’s hands and bite them.  
“That reminds me…” He flipped open a datapad and typed a few things. In a flash of transmat, a glittering sword and a strange, bird-shaped helmet appeared at Crow’s feet. 

“Ready for some upgrades?”


	4. Corvids Love Shiny Things

Crow went for the helmet first and stared into its glowing eye coverings. They lightly tapped the beak-like protrusion against their nose, then turned to Bitrik.  
“What is it?”

Bitrik chuckled. “It’s a helmet- and a special one at that. You said you once summoned a gun made of fire, right?”

Crow nodded. “When that Titan chased me through the Mists, yeah.”

“That helmet is called a Celestial Nighthawk, and it makes that gun fire a single, high-impact shot that can absolutely DECIMATE powerful enemies if you hit them in their weak spot.”

“Woah… how does it do that?” Crow slipped their head into the helmet and spun around like a child using a VR headset for the first time.

“Uuuh,” Bitrik stumbled over himself. “Don’t worry about it.”

Crow stepped forward, eyes focused on the HUD inside the helmet instead of the real world. They tripped on the other gift- the ornate sword- and found themself sprawled out on the Annex floor, facedown. Again. 

Bitrik offered Crow a hand and chuckled. “Watch yourself with that thing. I’ve used one before, and it’s scarily easy to run into things while wearing it.”

Crow accepted Bitrik’s help and hauled themself to their feet. “Thanks. Now, what’s this sword?”

“Black Talon. Forged by the Dreaming City’s finest weaponsmiths as a ceremony accessory, but still lethal.”

Crow ran their finger along the filigree of the sword, then winced and tried to lick away the small beads of blood that formed- to no effect, since they were still wearing the Nighthawk.

“Watch the insides,” Bitrik said just too late. “For some reason, those are bladed too. What makes this thing special, besides the looks, is that pattern. Go ahead and swing it- VERY lightly.”

Crow let their arm go limp as they moved the sword through the air. Wind flowed through the now-glowing holes with a beautiful, whistling melody.

“Cool, right? Now, swing it like a club.”  
  
Crow turned to Bitrik, confusion on their face. “What?”

Bitrik stepped to Crow’s side and gently guided their hands to optimal positions.

“Relax your shoulders, and let your wrists loose. You’re gonna want to lock your elbows about halfway through, and hold TIGHT. Once it starts moving, it’ll get heavy as it builds momentum. When your arms are directly in front of you, lock and move the blade slightly up. Point the tip at your target while swinging too.”

Crow breathed in slowly as they brought the sword to first position. “Alrighty. I don't think I processed that just yet, but oh well.”

They brought their right arm back, closed their eyes, and released the breath. The sword arced and sung like before, but when Crow’s arms stopped moving, a purple, spectral reflection of the sword followed the path and flew for almost twenty meters. 

Crow’s jaw went slack under their helmet. They pointed to the spot where the projectile had dissipated and managed a small, awestruck squeak. Bitrik nodded sagely and turned to Drifter, who was leaning against the wall unimpressed.

“Think they’re ready?” Bitrik asked, pointing to Crow over his shoulder. 

Drifter closed his eyes and shrugged. “More than you were when I started with you, and look at ya now- You’re a Stasis-wielding, rule-breaking Dredgen poster child.”

Drifter pulled out his Ghost and scanned Crow while they were distracted by the Talon.

“They’re perfect, brother.”


	5. Derelict

Crow looked down at their new armor set’s swirling yellow markings. The fanged maw of a snake illuminated their right shoulder and continued down their legs and cape. Bitrik had called it a Sentry suit- tech specifically made for the game.

The cape was the most unfamiliar part. Crow was still used to wearing their shawl instead, and had gotten tangled in it when they and Bitrik had been teleported - _ transmatted _ \- into the lobby of Drifter’s Derelict.

Bitrik was talking to Drifter on a podium, but the holo-barriers blocked most of the conversation from Crow’s ears.

“Listen,” Bitrik said, “I know they’re not exactly wet behind the ears, but can we do some custom rounds before you toss them into the Invasion well?”

Drifter laughed. “What?! Nah, kid’s gotta learn somehow!”

Bitrik sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Fine. Just… don’t send Fallen in, ok? Or Taken Eliksni. It… it hits a bit of a nerve for them.”

“You want me to go easy on em? Really?”

“I don’t want them to perma-die,” Bitrik snapped quietly. “They just got out of some rough shit, and I’m trying to help them cut loose without being nagged by Spider.”

The name left Bitrik’s lips with a sour taste. To think he had once eagerly worked with that asshole…

“Rig your coins for Vex or something.”

Drifter narrowed his eyes. “You know that’s not how it works.”

Bitrik turned back to Crow, who waved at him shakily. He huffed again and snarled under his breath, “Make it.”

Bitrik’s Shatterdive launched him over the holo-barrier and back onto the ready dock. The red arrows on the floor lit up green as he landed in his signature three-point crouch. Drifter began his typical tricks on the podium, flipping and juggling the jade coins to determine the match’s combatants.

He flipped the final coin up, and while it was airborne, he winked at a still-scowling Bitrik.

“Vex on the field!”

Vex? Crow had heard stories about those, but never was allowed to leave the Shore to see one firsthand. Anxiety welled in them as more players filtered into the lobby. Two more on their side, and a team of four on the enemy’s. Guardians of all classes and colors readied their loadouts as Drifter rambled some pre-game advice- none of which Crow caught through the pounding in their head.


	6. TRANSMAT FIRIN’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW graphic depictions of gore and (technically) parasites towards the end. Vex milk is nasty stuff lmao

The call and flash of blue startled Crow out of their own little world, right in time for the nauseating warp down to the surface of Nessus. Crow’s vision was assailed by the sun filtering through red leaves. They were in some sort of cave lit by pale orange stick lanterns- The only way out was directly ahead of them, and Crow realized that the rest of the team had already left the small pocket. They clambered out of the cave and immediately fell off of the small ledge. 

Crow turned to face the hole and grimaced, then spun back to the new zone. 

On the left was some kind of massive, metallic structure; to the right, a behemoth Cabal drill; and dead ahead, a swirling canister of Taken energy.

Crow staggered back. “This is a horrible idea,” they thought. “How the hell did I manage to be persuaded he-“

“CROOOOW!” Bitrik’s yell once again startled Crow. They looked up at the branches of a nearby tree and saw Bitrik situated in the red leaves. A brown and gold Long Shadow was aimed down range in his arms.

Bitrik noticed Crow’s anxiety. “You good, m’dude?” he asked, now hanging by his knees and ankles.

Crow nodded to the contrary. “I- I don’t know if I can do this.”

Bitrik dropped from the tree and confidently strode to Crow’s side. He patted their shoulder- the snake side- and waved a hand to the arena.    
“I know this doesn’t help much, but try not to worry. Perma-deaths in here are super rare, and usually only happen if you take your Ghost out. Lots of folks panic for their first couple of games.”   
He jumped to the top of the canister and clapped his hands. “If you ever get lost, just remember what Eli said- Kill, Bank and Burn!”

Crow rubbed the nose of their helmet and followed Bitrik begrudgingly. The radar on the Nighthawk’s HUD highlighted nearby enemies, but they didn’t need it- The Vex were loud enough to track by ear alone. Mechanical wails and the sound of grinding metal echoed from the Steps to their left. Crow approached cautiously, dropping from a short ledge into a pale river. It took only a second for the Radiolarian puddle to spark to life. Veins of Vex raced up Crow’s legs, driving microscopic pili into their fabric armor as they swarmed the intruder like a nest of bees. Crow immediately scrambled back up the ledge and screamed in agony.

Bitrik’s ears flicked under his helmet at the sound of Crow’s distress. He released a Goblin from a headlock -and life, with a stab of a shuriken- and charged for the edge of the terrace. He grabbed Crow by the base of their cloak and hauled them up to the top.

Now seated on dry ground, Crow grabbed their ankle and brought it to eye level. Small boreholes tore through the electrocuted flesh, dripping bloodied Radiolaria. Crow winced as a particularly large Vex cell slithered out of their boot and landed on the floor with a disgusting  _ splat _ .

Bitrik recoiled at the sight. “Holy fuck…” 

Glint began to work his magic and fix Crow’s legs as Bitrik stared in horror. 

“Didn’t know they could do  _ that _ …”

Crow looked up to Bitrik, and asked meekly, “what was that?!”

“That’s the Vex in their purest form. It’s called Radiolaria, and it can corrupt basically anything into a Vex construct.”

Glint spun as he finished healing Crow, then vanished into the pocket backpack. Crow stood and tested their footing before looking around- then dropped to a crouch as a ball of Void energy sailed towards them.


End file.
